Get past the unfamiliar visuals, however, and this storefront in a Bluff Park strip mall feels exactly like the old Moonlight Music Cafe in Vestavia Hills.

Its location might be different, and the interior’s a work in progress, but the spirit of Keith Harrelson’s listening room remains intact.

The original Moonlight, which closed in 2006, was created by Harrelson three years earlier as a quality-conscious performance space and a 100-seat haven for the singer-songwriter crowd.

To help pay the bills, Harrelson and his staff served food and drinks to patrons who gathered there, but he always regarded the kitchen as a side project, never the primary goal.

For its founder, the Moonlight shone most brightly on its music frontier. An economic failure? Eventually, yes, but that didn’t diminish the artistic successes of the shows Harrelson presented.

Americana bands, folk acts, jazz groups, blues singers, pop rockers and bluegrass ensembles played at the Moonlight and loved it. A core group of patrons was devoted to the place, and they introduced others to Harrelson’s listening-room aesthetic.

When the Moonlight got snuffed out, fans mourned its demise and moved on to other nightclubs, other bars, other venues. Some of the regulars became fond of Small Stages, a Birmingham nonprofit group that organizes a series of house concerts and intimate shows at art galleries, churches and restaurants.

Harrelson, a member of the Small Stages board, kept his dreams alive that way, securing performers for the series who might otherwise have played at the Moonlight.

The way it was: A look inside the former location of the Moonlight Music Cafe. (From the Moonlight's MySpace page)Now, he’s getting ready to introduce a new incarnation of the Moonlight in Hoover. Although it won’t be open until early next year, Harrelson previewed the space for a Small Stages audience this past weekend.

There, around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, he and the rest of the Small Stages team presented a two-set concert by the Bittersweets. The Nashville roots rockers proved to be a good draw, but for some of those present, the opportunity to check out the Moonlight’s new locale was just as important.

For the record, it’s 585 Shades Crest Road, on the ground floor of a homey retail center that also houses the Bluff Park Diner, almost directly across from the Tip Top Grill.

On the plus side, the spot has a lot of character — not to mention the great view — and the Moonlight should fit snugly into the mix. On the minus side, there’s a smallish parking lot that requires cars to enter from one direction and settle into slanted spaces.

Overall, however, the new location should serve Harrelson’s needs and bring Moonlight maniacs back into the fold.

Most notably, the acoustics were warm and impressive for the Bittersweets, even with a makeshift sound set-up. Harrelson had to fiddle with a mix on the first couple of songs, but that’s typical for any concert space, from WorkPlay to the BJCC Arena.

Although modest in size, the interior of the Moonlight didn’t feel claustrophobic or uncomfortable. In fact, it came off as cozy, and should become more so after Harrelson completes his renovations and figures out the furnishings.

Right now, there’s only one bathroom and the stage seems rather low, but he’s bound to address such red flags before the Moonlight opens for business. And, speaking of business, Harrelson has yet to explain exactly how the Moonlight will operate.

Live music will be crucial to the enterprise, but he’s developing a new concept that doesn’t include selling food or beverages.

On Sunday, Harrelson, formerly a professional photographer, told the crowd that a room near the entrance would serve as his photography studio. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s going to do with that, and how it might play out for the Moonlight.